PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI: Even though the city is host to several sensitive government and other security installations and suffers from crime, work on the construction of an integrated command and control centre for police in Rawalpindi has been stalled for the past three years owing to shortage of funds.
The previous provincial government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had approved a sum of Rs277.163 million to build the project, but it released only 45 per cent of the requisite funds, owing to which construction of the project halted.
A senior police official spoke to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity, because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that construction on the integrated command and control centre began in October 2017.
He added that this purpose, the old City Police Officer (CPO) office, located across from the Deputy Commissioner (DC) House, had been torn down to make way for the new complex.
Offices of the CPO, SSP Operations, SSP Security, SSP Investigation, Complaint Cell, OSI branch, and all other departments were shifted to the police lines.
However, the project has been stalled for three years due to a lack of funds.
The official said that construction on the project ground to a halt after the frame for the three-storey building was erected.
The contractor then allegedly ran away, abandoning his equipment at the site, after the government halted payments.
The building now looks abandoned, he added.
The police official said that several letters were sent to the Punjab government to complete the project but they were all ignored.
Now, he said, the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has decided to replicate the Police Integrated Computerised Command and Control System in six other major cities of the province including Multan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala.
The system includes an incident management, geographic information system (GIS), resource management system, integrated automatic resource location system (ARLS), mobile data terminals and an integrated video management system (IVMS).
The command and control centre is also equipped with systems for the control and management of digital recordings, archiving, analysis tools, video walls, in-vehicle video systems and field equipment.
The centre will also allow the active surveillance of different locations in the city such as major markets and parks, key intersections, highways, and iconic buildings through closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. This was to be integrated with the safe city project.
The objective was not only to provide safety to citizens but better management of police resources, traffic management, reduce road accidents, generate employment and improve government-citizen interaction.
The government’s lethargy has compelled the top police officials to work in the offices which were temporarily established in Civil Lines until the completion of the project. Working out of makeshift offices, the officers complain of facing serious difficulties in executing their duties.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2020.
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